“Mother dear, arise, arise, Dry the tearful household’s eyes! Waken, waken from thy trance, Speak a word or cast a glance! Pity thou thy children’s lot! Rise, O mother, leave us not! Death triumphant, woe is me, From thy children snatcheth thee! To the wall hast turned thee now, Son nor daughter heedest thou. Laid the church-yard sod beneath, Thou shalt feel no breeze’s breath On the surface of thy grave; From thy brow shall grasses wave, From those eyes so mild and true Nodding harebells take their blue.” Women alone are allowed to take part in these lamentations, and all women related to the deceased by ties of blood or friendship are bound to assist as mourners; likewise, those whose families have been on unfriendly terms with the dead man now appear to ask his forgiveness. The corpse must remain exposed a full day and night in the chamber of death, and during that time must never be left alone, nor should the lamentations be suffered to cease for a single moment. For this reason it is customary to have hired women to act the part of mourners, by relieving each other at intervals in singing the mourning songs. Often the deceased himself, in his last testamentary disposition, has ordered the details of his funeral, and fixed the payment—sometimes very considerable—which the mourning women are to receive. The men related to the deceased are also bound to spend the night in the house, keeping watch over the corpse. This is called keeping the _privegghia_, which, however, has not necessarily a mournful character, as they mostly pass the time with various games, or else seated at table with food and wine. Before the funeral the priest is called in, who, reciting the words of the fiftieth psalm, pours wine over the corpse. After this the coffin is closed, and must not be reopened unless the deceased be suspected to have died of a violent death, in which case the man accused of the crime is confronted with the corpse of his supposed victim, whose wounds will, at his sight, begin to bleed afresh. In many places two openings corresponding to the ears of the deceased are cut in the wood of the coffin, to enable him to hear the songs of mourning which are sung on either side of him as he is carried to the grave. This singing into the ears has passed into a proverb, and when the Roumanian says, “_I-a-cantat la urechia_” (they have sung into his ear), it is tantamount to saying that prayer, advice, and remonstrance have all been used in vain. Whoever dies unmarried must not be carried by married bearers to the grave: a married man or woman is carried by married men, and a youth by other youths, while a maiden is carried by other maidens with hanging, dishevelled hair. In every case the rank of the bearer should correspond to that of the deceased, and a fruntas can as little be carried by mylocasi as the bearers of a codas may be higher than himself in rank.